My Life My Rules!!!

In need of a perfect execution

Everyone and everything has a story to tell Every now and then an article or a paper comes up which demands one to internalize and think of what one wants to be, makes me think, wonder how can someone think that they want to do this and that as they grow up. Well, right now I have this problem at hand and I have myriad of thoughts running in my head. I wish I could be so clear as to know what I want to do a year from now, five years from now and so on. At this point, I would want to stop and re-establish myself, I am the artist who is yet to figure out his art, his talent, something he would love to do today, tomorrow and the day after. When I see around I see my peers limiting themselves more or less to WORK. Vision for them is their future professional goal, job, money, designation, competition. What I see for myself, my vision for my future; before I jump to that let me first find out who am I. As far as I have read & understood, from any of the professional help book, is that before embarking on any of the journey one should be aware of whom s/he is. So, vision should be the itinerary, the means to reach the end.

In order to figure out the passion, the map of my journey I thought it better to prioritize and jot the following: Things that are most important to me Family Things I enjoy the most Being around animals/breeding and giving a quality life to animals Responsibilities I need to fulfill- Responsibilities towards Parents, Girl Friend, Brother. Monetary activities that I can do without feeling drained Event organizing, Marketing Verticals/Line of business I would like to venture for the above activities Hospitality, Service industry.

Thus, I believe this gives me clarity of defining my BHAG Big Hairy Audacious Goal (Covey did help me keep this as a milestone in this paper). Now that I have put in the first things first I plan to create a time line for myself: MY Timeline: o Yesterday what did I miss? Do I have my journal and experiences of my 1st corporate innings. o Today I will be reaching the shore in a year and a half. Do I have all the necessary qualities to sail through? My boat and my map ready? Do I have a life jacket (Plan B)? o Tomorrow: The first 5-10 years of my 2nd Professional Innings. Have I learnt from my mistakes of yesterday? Am I prepared and have the required ammunitions. o The day after How will be my situation in the next decade? Do I have what I have planned? Time to connect the dots and access the situation. o The SUNDAY - Is it time to anchor? Is my BHAG there in front of me?

MY BHAG Creating a self-sustaining animal farm & Fish aquarium wherein I will breed animals, treat animals and use my mothers and girl-friends (Future wife) expertise to grow organic vegetables. Also, keeping a stream of perpetual cash flows by investing in real estate.

(We will be 5 earning members in another 1.5 years so the latter part is realistic). Well I am aware that this sounds like a retired mans vision, but considering the deteriorating environment and standards of food this will be a challenge after 15 years. Now in order to achieve this BHAG I should go one step at a time however, I am juggling things and doing more than one at a time.

Yesterday
Learning knows how about animals: Worked as a volunteer with Blue-cross Hyderabad. I have fulfilled all the mandatory requirements to register myself as a dog breeder. I am interning in Docent program of Crocodile Park Chennai. I

have bred Fish and rabbits successfully. This as per my Timeline was Yesterday continuing to today. Public Speaking and oratorical skills Step towards a good Marketer: VicePresident Education/Membership TCS Synergy Park Toastmasters was the stepping stone and a realization factor that I enjoy connecting with people and I am a peoples person.

Today
Getting a feel of Hospitality industry I have a summer internship lined up with Caf Coffee Day and also I have a 10 percent stake in a franchise of an Ahmedabad local coffee shop Danys. It is currently running in Ahmedabad. Work in progress:

Tomorrow
Need to understand what is different in Cesar Millan The dog whisperer. If possible meet him. Need to get a good job or devise a business model wherein I can get investors. This business or job will be in the field of service marketing or food industry as I am enjoying that. Scaling up my mothers educational/tuition center.

More involvement with the start-up Collegiates which we have started however, is funded and run by only 1 member as of now.

Coming with a financial plan with landmarks as the money invested in order to achieve the required financial freedom.

Funds for other social responsibilities Marriage, honeymoon Mine as well as parents

Funds for unseen events.

Day After
Internalizing and looking back and targeting ahead. Am I on the right tide? The path ahead.

The Sunday
Have I fulfilled the required responsibilities to dive into and realize BHAG Are my pre-requisites of BHAG achieved, the financial stability, the cash flow sources set according to those current times. If all this goes per plan, I will have what is called a goal achieved and perhaps will then look for another BHAG. This is the path that I have charted for myself. However, I need to pick up some habit during my journey. For which I turn to various people. Friends, public figures I admire,

my parents, relatives and Malcolm Gladwell. Malcolm Gladwells view of looking at things and understanding the little things that make difference has had a profound effect on me. Though I have not been able to inculcate that habit, however, I do have been able to see things more clearly. In my growing days I had mental blocks at understanding simple relationships, affection, love, and caring attitude. I have not still reached the point I have envisioned myself to bestow with in peoples skill but I am growing and improving day by day. Every now and then I put myself to various tests. But the one that I have found most helpful is Myers Briggs Personality Tests. I look at those and evaluate myself. I aim at balancing my attributes Extrovert vs Introvert; Intuitive vs Logic/thinking; creative vs logical;

Also, sometimes I have subjected myself to SWOT analysis. However, the only constant I have arrived at is change. Strengths, weakness are evolving and change with time.

Opportunities not taken a shot at are lost and understanding threats to me and my goals is easier said than done.

Concluding Remarks:
As I conclude this internalization effort, I would sincerely thank Prof G Ramesh, to make me sit and ponder upon my life. Looking back helped me realize that I have been unknowingly pro-active in progressing towards my goal. Unknowingly, I have been working towards the end in my mind Prioritizing is something I am learning and will be imbibing in my life. Well, I am happy to actually apply and see the efforts of what I have read in 7 habits of highly effective people; more excited thinking that unknowingly these habits have got me here, now when I will make concerted effort to follow them I am surely I will have a good feedback for myself.

"I have, lets say, sixty years to live. Most of that time will be spent working. Ive chosen the work I want to do. If I find no joy in it, then Im only condemning myself to sixty years of torture. And I can find the joy only if I do my work in the best way possible to me. But the best is a matter of standards--and I set my own standards. I inherit nothing, stand at the end of no tradition. I may, perhaps, stand at the beginning of one."

Howard Roark (Fountainhead)